Helicobacter pylori is a spiral bacterium that can colonize the human stomach - sometimes with fatal consequences. A research group led by Prof. Markus Gerhard of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Assistant Professor ...

A common bacterium that more than half of people have in their gut can use hydrogen gas present in the gastrointestinal tract to inject a cancer-causing toxin into otherwise healthy cells, according to a recently published ...

Most bacteria cannot survive in the acidic environment of the human stomach, but Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of ulcers, thrives under such circumstances. Now research has shown that one of that bacterium's regulatory ...

Scientists are continually unearthing new facts about Homo sapiens from the mummified remains of Ötzi, the Copper Age man, who was discovered in a glacier in 1991. Five years ago, after Ötzi's genome was completely deciphered, ...

For a long time, bacteria were considered to be primitive structures, and it was not until the most modern of imaging techniques were used that their fine inner structure was discovered. The Berlin biophysicist Adam Lange ...

Helicobacter pylori is a bacteria that lives in the gut of more than 50 per cent of the world's population, and is the most common bacterial infection worldwide. It is responsible for most peptic ulcers and is a significant ...

Discovered in 1982, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a disease-causing bacterium that survives in our stomachs despite the harsh acidic conditions. It is estimated that one in two people have got it, though most won't ever ...

(Phys.org)—Experiments at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have revealed a potential new way to attack common stomach bacteria that cause ulcers and significantly increase the odds ...

University of Oregon scientists have discovered how the bacterium Helicobacter pylori navigates through the acidic stomach, opening up new possibilities to inactivate its disease-causing ability without using current strategies ...

Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori (pronounced /ˌhɛlɪkɵˈbæktər pɪˈlɔəraɪ/) is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium that inhabits various areas of the stomach and duodenum. It causes a chronic low-level inflammation of the stomach lining and is strongly linked to the development of duodenal and gastric ulcers and stomach cancer. Over 80% of individuals infected with the bacterium are asymptomatic.

The bacterium was initially named Campylobacter pyloridis, then renamed C. pylori to correct a Latin grammar error. When 16S rRNA gene sequencing and other research showed in 1989 that the bacterium did not belong in the genus Campylobacter, it was placed in its own genus, Helicobacter. The genus derived from the Ancient Greek hělix/έλιξ "spiral" or "coil". The specific epithet pylōri means "of the pylorus" or pyloric valve (the circular opening leading from the stomach into the duodenum), from the Ancient Greek word πυλωρός, which means gatekeeper.

More than 50% of the world's population harbour H. pylori in their upper gastrointestinal tract. Infection is more prevalent in developing countries, although incidence is decreasing in western countries. The route of transmission is unknown, although individuals become infected in childhood. H. pylori's helix shape (from which the generic name is derived) is thought to have evolved to penetrate the mucoid lining of the stomach.